...It may not be new to alot of you, but it certainly is to me! I haven't been licensed very long, nor have I been successful in keeping up with my contacts/SOI consistently, at least not the same ones.
As I am sure alot of agents rely on the speedy and convenient presence of technology, we are always looking for things to make our lives and line of work easier for us.
Being a "crackberry addict", I am always looking for cool applications to add to my device and some that will make communicating easier. Some of us own the ever so cool "don't be a hater cuz others have one and you don't I-Phone"! Both of these devices give you a means to communicate with others in at least a hundred different ways, if someone doesn't have a cell phone, more than likely they have an email address they can use to get to you, if they don't like email, they can IM you, and if they just want to send a message and be done and wait for your reply, there's old reliable...text messaging.
I recently stumbled upon two GREAT apps for both "abusers" of the I-phone and the blackberry, both of which allow you to have ONE portal in which to dump all 800 of your Instant message screenames! For the beloved "crackberry addict", there's "Beejive", currently giving you a free 30-day trial, then you will pay $20.00 to download the application once your "free 30 day license" expires. Like Meebo(for i-phone users) you have ONE application in which your AOL, YAHOO, ICQ, WINDOWS LIVE, AIM, GOOGLE TALK and whatever other IM you have goes into. You have ALOT of options in which to set this up and it allows you to log in to all of your accounts at one time, set a status/away message for all of your accounts at one time, see who is online through your various accounts at one time...do you see where this is going? If I want to change my status message that day to remind people (apart of my SOI) that they can contact me to get information, a CMA, a listing appointment, etc. these applications allow me to do just that. Aside from just Instant messaging portals, these apps also enable use of Facebook Chat, which is yet another great outlet for Real Estate professionals as I have learned over the last year or so.
So even with all the madness of having many social networking accounts, screenames and IMs, there is still a way to combine all for the sake and sanity of convenience and still use them as a productive tool for our work. And further on the upside...you can delete the three different accounts that are using up application space, memory, and battery life as these apps cater to those who use their devices ALOT and therefore use alot of power from short-term or quick usage of different applications.
As a newbie, this may help me more than it helps you as someone who has established contacts and maybe has a more uniform system of your own in which to get word out to your SOI...but I don't mind passing along cool info!
So, yesterday I had a pretty interesting and somewhat productive day on the open house front. I had a little time to kill before meeting a colleague at his open house (he was helping another agent), so I followed the signs to a FSBO open house. I've visited quite a few open houses in the last year or so, and this was the first time I have been to a FSBO. The property was really nice and had great space, not sure if was priced properly for the area where it was, but if it wasn't, I doubt it was priced outrageously!
Well, in my limited experience, I knew right away said homeowner/seller had run out of feet to shoot himself in! Aside from his reluctance to come down in the price (I could tell it in his voice when he answered my question of how much he was asking), he mentioned that he has held and open house EVERY Sunday with no offers since it's been on the market...it's been on the market since MARCH! Now I first shook hands with the gentleman before handing him my card, to let him know I came in peace and not to shake up his harmonious open house he had going on! His next question pretty much informed me what his goal was and why he had the home on the market with no offers..."What about your fees?" Instantly I felt a panic, what word vomit was I going to throw out as to make my first rookie mistake? Well, at this point, I had looked through the property and was pretty much on my way out the door, so knowing this, I chilled and simply smiled. I told him what I could in my limited power and experience. "Well Mr homeowner/seller, it will take looking at some comps among other important elements, but the fees are always negotiable, these can be discussed in a listing presentation where I can also offer you a way better alternative than an open house so we can get QUALIFIED buyers to the property and get people bidding right away...does that sound like something you possibly would be interested in?"
I wasn't met with any resistance as he hadn't been given the "hard pitch" (what do you think?) and I wasn't pushy so as to insist "Gimmie the listing when you FIANLLY wanna sell this house buddy!!"...I offered a solution with a possible alternative...we both ended the 10 minutes with a smile, and my business card had been passed to somone with a need
Ok, so on to the open house with my colleague!! I got a chance to assist a colleague yesterday at an open house. Nothing big, just buzzing in guests and making sure they signed in, that's pretty much it. Of course I was more than happy to observe while my colleague engaged potential clients and interested buyers at the property. Well, when I first walked in, I was greeted by a VERY distinctive smell. Considering this was an open house, you might think that smell was fresh baked cookies? No. Perhaps some potpourri warming on the stove or a scented candle? No sir!
Pet odor!
Yes, both the agent and I had the displeasure of smelling this odor along with doing our best to contain our displeasure that the place wasn't furnished either. This by the way, again, was my colleague doing a favor for another colleague who was not informed by the seller that the place was not furnished, and of course the smell was probably lost on the seller since they lived there with the pets and unfortunately were probably used to the smell. Now, had we not had this experience, I doubt my notion to let potential sellers know what I expect of them would have been solidified...I am now determined more than ever, to ensure potential sellers do their "homework"...even if people coming through to the open house don't buy your property, it should be noted...MR/MISS HOME SELLER YOU'RE BEING GRADED BY WHAT WE CALL WORD OF MOUTH!!! NASTY ODOR=FAIL!!! NO FURNITURE (AND NOT TELLING THE AGENT)=FAIL!!
Someone...anyone...PLEASE tell me you have something a bit less shameful and more interesting from an open house experience!!!
I found a cool tool in the Blackberry application store. It's called "Homes for Sale by Smarter Agent". You can search listings and homes for sale by Broker/zipcode...basically like MLS. First you have to have a blackberry (LOL), then you download Blackberry Application World to your phone, go to:
Follow the directions to download and install. Once you have done so, go ahead into the icon/app on your phone and go to the search option and type in "Homes For Sale"...it will take you right to the application and give you step by step insturctions to download and install.
I am sure there may be something similar for those who use Iphones (they have meebo for Iphone and not blackberry...darnit!!!) but this is of course for those of us who are loyal to good old blackberry!!
Today's blog post, though a bit off topic, I think can be appreciated by all.
I just got over the flu, FINALLY feeling human and 100% again! I hadn't been cursed with the flu since age 11 I think? Anyhow, I must say, I am glad I have yet to attain a client roster as of yet, because I don't know how I would be able to work with the flu! I am assuming alot of you more established agents have an assistant, are on sales teams, or somehow have someone who you can count on to back you up should something like this keep you out of commission for a bit (in my case 8 whole days).
Needless to say, this has inspired me to encourage all of us to take care of ourselves when we are well. Such a line of work is going to need us to be as healthy as ready when the time calls for us to go above and beyond for our clients. I am going to share a recipe I found which is to help maintain your immune system. I HIGHLY encourage all of you to research and google various natural remedies and other things that will help keep you well so that you are not u attacked with something that keeps you in bed for several days...
1/2 each of your favorite fruit, frozen (eg. organic strawberries, papaya, mango)
1 tbsp of flax oil or 2 tbsp of flaxseedmeal (because fiber steadies the absorption of carbs and therefore contributes to a steadier blood sugar, it's suggested using rich sources of fiber, such as flaxseed meal-ground flaxseeds containing the oil and the fiber)
3 ounces of tofu
10 mg of zinc
100 mcg. selenium
50-100 iu of vitamin E
1 serving soy isolate powder (optional)
2 tbsp peanutbutter (optional)
Combine all ingredients until smooth, serve immediately while the mixture still has a bubbly milkshake like consistency
...And assuming these agents have buyers, which of you ahead of time makes a little portfolio of YOUR listings to hand to them should they have buyers that qualify for them? No?....Well consider that your tip of the day!!
So just how open are any of you to networking and marketing yourselves/brands to RE professionals ASIDE from other agents/Realtors??
You mean you don't have a separate set of business cards to hand out to a title agent, or occasionally take lunch to a small mortgage office? What are you in this business for?!!? It takes a village to put a family in a home! (LOL) Often, I hear and read from agents and Realtors how important it is to network and get your name out there, etc...Well who better to network with than others who are instrumental in the home buying/selling process as well as yourselves?
The same process we come up with to get tactics to sell homes and get listings are some of the same things we can gather to attract others in the RE community, getting on a first name basis with these people is just as important as getting that contract signed with the potential buyer or seller. Has your day to day activity changed or lessened since we are experiencing a slightly different market at the moment? By all means, go steal a bit of an office's time! Go on Vista Print and print up a batch of "Networking cards" (cheap and free right now if you hurry on over there), take the time to run by Domino's, Subway, or Mrs. Field's and steal 15 minutes of time at least one Title, Mortgage and notary office a week...introduce yourself and point out your Active Rain link on the card tell them all about it and how it works, chances are they know nothing about it, A LOT of RE professionals still don't! They'll never forget it, and you'll never regret it!! Happy Real "Estating" :)
So, the newbie has FINALLY found a home to hang her real estate hat. I have been mulling over a few different brokers and pretty much came full circle to the broker where I was originally taking my classes.
My Branch Vice President implored me to blog about why buyers/sellers should work with me being a new agent. I have had tons of ideas dancing around in my head for months and while I got excited about putting them to work, I must say it’s a whole different story actually conveying why these ideas would be good for new/potential clients.
Most of what I have come up with was after hearing how a lot of sellers not only want to get the most they can for their home, but how it may not be easy finding buyers once their home’s listing price has been set. It got my mind going when I started visiting open houses on my own out of curiosity; how so much foot traffic through their home may or may not produce serious buyers who are interested in the property and REALLY want to set forth in putting and offer on the table. The traditional open house, as said by many agents, helps the agent more than it would help the sellers. That is not to say that an open house is something an agent should refuse to do. But in this current state of our business, we not only need to be creative about how we get the business, but how we STAY in the business.
Time and time again in the last year, I have heard that QUALIFIED and MOTIVATED buyers are the key to getting one’s home sold not only in this current market, but in ANY market. Putting forth something unique and exclusive would be the ticket. What says unique and exclusive more than a “Look and Leave”?
Sure, I’ll answer your question! A “Look and Leave” is just that, motivated buyers go to look at the property, and they leave. There is no puttering around your home, “just to look”, and no people coming into your home just for the freebies and the food only to have left tracked dirt in your home as their way of saying “thanks” when they only wanted to pass time rather than put forth an offer on your home. How this works, is once you get your listing, a call to action is put to fellow agents (who have buyers) letting them know that the property in *area/address/location* is up for sale (you may even want to get a jump on this before the property listing hits the MLS…remember I’m a newbie, not sure how plausible this would be) and to bring their buyers to the property on the designated date and time. This could be in the form of an invitation of sorts.
This is where we would deviate from an open house in the traditional sense. Only motivated buyers are going to come to a home and view it at say between 5 and 7 in the evening…yes, I am aware that isn’t anything new, but to take it a step further, this is where the “leave” comes in, they are given a designated amount of time to look through the home 15, maybe 20 minutes tops before exiting through the back of the home, allowing them to have a look at the yard space on the way out. A simple “thank you” followed by how you and those one or two interested parties’ agents will discuss their putting an offer on the home. This way, the sellers didn’t have their home open for 2 or 3 hours with individuals who more than likely were not interested in the home. The idea, of course has a couple of other elements to it, but for the most part, this is something that shows benefit and hopefully alleviates any doubts many may have about working with someone less experienced. In a listing presentation, this I feel, would be very appealing to individuals who at the end of the day want to be equally impressed with what speaks to their question of “How can you give us results?” more than your designations and what broker/brand you work behind.
Long time, no blog! Today's entry is inspired by a message board post in which many thought networking with other Realtors is a waste of time and essentially giving buisness away!
Being a newbie, I don't have alot of money to join alot of the organizations and whatnot! But networking is still a BIG part of the process. Living in Washington, DC there are alot of foreign embassies that have parties and gatherings and whatnot, I go to them, that is a strong possiblity to meet with individuals who will need somone to help them buy or list their home. As mentioned in a previous blog entry, I strongly suggest having a seperate set of cards to hand out to other RE professionals as opposed to the basic cards you would hand out to those who are going to want to buy/sell a home through you.
I don't see how networking with other agents is a waste or throwing business to the competition, if you are REALLY loving Real Estate like I do, you will find a way to come up with some of your own original concepts that "flocking closely" with the competition won't hurt you at all. How else are you going to get agents with buyers to come look at your listings? It makes perfect sense when I get a listing to call so and so and see if they have any buyers interested in a listing I have, I mean if I have networked with and exhanged information with 10 agents last Saturday, get a listing the following Tuesday, that's 10 potential offers that could go in on the property, that's how I look at it!
Your thoughts?
That is a question I would love to ask a Real Esate professional once I am able to sit and talk with one. Ever since the bursting of the housing bubble and the exposure of the sub prime lenders and everything that has dramatically changed the current RE market around the country, that's been on my mind. The smoke has cleared a bit and the dust has settled, and there are still those who chose not to turn in or allow their licenses to expire.
So given the current state of things, and how many must look at us (especially those new to the business), my question to you is: DO YOU LOVE REAL ESTATE? Are you passionate about this and what you do and represent to people, or have you decided to hang in there for the sake of the next chunk of money? What keeps you going and do your clients see it reflected in all you say and do?
It's been quite an interesting thing to see as recently in my area (Washington, DC) there are many agents who are no longer in the business of Real Estate, licenses have been turned in and expired. So I ask, what is it that kept you in this buisness other than the money, what have you always gotten out of it that you feel you probably couldn't in another line of work?
So just how open are any of you to networking and marketing yourselves/brands to RE professionals ASIDE from other agents/Realtors??
You mean you don't have a separate set of business cards to hand out to a title agent, or occasionally take lunch to a small mortgage office? What are you in this business for?!!?
It takes a village to put a family in a home! (LOL) Often, I hear and read from agents and Realtors how important it is to network and get your name out there, etc...Well who better to network with than others who are instrumental in the home buying/selling process as well as yourselves? The same process we come up with to get tactics to sell homes and get listings are some of the same things we can gather to attract others in the RE community, getting on a first name basis with these people is just as important as getting that contract signed with the potential buyer or seller.
Has your day to day activity changed or lessened since we are experiencing a slightly different market at the moment? By all means, go steal a bit of an office's time! Go on Vista Print and print up a batch of "Networking cards" (cheap and free right now if you hurry on over there), take the time to run by Domino's, Subway, or Mrs. Field's and steal 15 minutes of time at least one Title, Mortgage and notary office a week...introduce yourself and point out your Active Rain link on the card tell them all about it and how it works, chances are they know nothing about it, A LOT of RE professionals still don't! They'll never forget it, and you'll never regret it!!
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
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